Rapoport: Hightower expected to sign deal with NE, NYJ, or PITT TODAY

[TommyD4207]

Obviously. All if it is speculation. No one knows what anyone has offered him. We can only go by what has been reported.

I don't think $12million/yr was actually reported. Just "more than the Patriots". And for that matter, we think the Patriots have offered 4/40. But we don't actually know that.

 

[thecore762]

I'm obviously hoping he comes back here but at this point in your career you're a two time Super Bowl champion LB. Do you want to retire in 6-8 years wishing you had just taken more money? If it's my greedy ass I take the money and sign with NY.

Well his season would be shorter each year lol...

 

[New England Pride]

Well, reports are he was expressing dissatisfaction about the number of touches he was getting, particularly after a blowout Saints win.

Why do you think the Saints were looking to trade him?

To be totally fair, 0 targets is a completely unreasonable amount of targets for a WR of Cooks caliber.

 

[Ring 6]

Obviously. All if it is speculation. No one knows what anyone has offered him. We can only go by what has been reported.

But there are no legit reports about actual offers.

 

[Joey007]

Any new useless speculation tweets?

 

[chasa]

Don't make an enemy out of me I will seriously follow you and dislike anything you post until you apologize for this comment

Give me naked chicken chalupa, or give me death and dislikes.

 

[crownontherocks]

Free agent LB Zach Brown is visiting the Raiders on Wednesday.

Ian rap

 

[BelichickFan]

 

[Pats1989]

He's choosing the Jets. Question becomes what we do about the D. Losing DH and Butler is a killer.

 

[TB12TheGoat]

They are so ****ing pathetic

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Was expecting more... more cupcakes I guess

 

[BadMoFo]

We have the money, if we want him.

 

[Joey007]

Is that as much as we think though? We thought they'd offer over 13 mill.

 

[GodBrady]

No one really should be talking about whether or not they would reject or take the Jets offer or even postulating whether or not money is worth it to change companies so to speak. Not a single person discussing this has ever been in a situation where they had a $13 million dollar job offer staring them in the face. Stop pretending like you know what his or anyone else's (whose faced with that much money) motivations are.

This is an extremely important point -- especially the part I bolded -- because it's so true. 95% of fans trot out the hackneyed excuse of "well, if I was Hightower, I wouldn't care about a couple extra million a year, I'd already be set for life financially anyway", and yet 95% of players end up going to the highest bidder (unless the money is really, really close -- $2-3M extra a year is not "really close"). The safe thing to say is that most fans think they would do one thing, but when faced with the prospect they would actually do what most players end up doing.

The other thing that is wildly exaggerated is playing for the Jets versus the Patriots. At the end of the day, we are talking about playing professional football for a living. We use colorful language like "going to the abyss and playing for the Jets". Uhm, what? Who cares if the Jets are awful, you're still playing a game for a living! Playing for the Jets -- all hyperbole and jokes about how terrible the Jets are aside -- is not the equiavlent of going to work in a coal mine and developing chronic lung disease. And rainbows don't start shooting out your ass just because you sign with the Patriots.

For that matter, there's no guarantee the Jets are going to continue to be awful. When players come in for visits, I guarantee you the brass is making pitches to them about how they have plans to turn things around and start fielding a competitive team again. And guess what? The way teams get better is by acquiring better players. Hightower alone may not move the needle much, but acquiring a handful of players of Hightower's caliber will.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Jets are going to be one of if not the worst team in the league for Hightower's prime. You deserve to rot there if you choose them.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Quick question: why are you assuming DH would hate it in NY?

• For a young guy NYC is likely more fun than Boston and certainly better than Foxboro.
• NE isn't really his "home" anyways -- he just built a huge mansion in Nashville.
• NYJ may use him in a playing style that's more enjoyable to him than how BB uses him.
• See Curran's piece about how NE is significantly more of a grind than most other teams. With two rings under his belt he might want to take it easier.
• While I'm sure the players all respect BB, I very much doubt they all like him. Hightower might be really annoyed by him and after years of Saban and BB might want to be in a different type of coaching regime.
• And now add a bigger contract to all of that.

Of course fans believe that NE is the be-all, end-all paradise on earth that all players should give their eye teeth to come and play in.

And for some players it absolutely will be. But for others it won't and they won't even want to come here in the first place. And for yet others it's something to put up with as a way to check off the "won superbowl" item on the list before going to a more fun (for them) place to play.

You make some great points here...I would just counter that New England clearly leads the league in signing players to sweetheart, team-friendly deals. In terms of the work environment, almost every player raves about playing for Robert Kraft's organization. It was reported that Burkhead just took an under value deal...every year they seem to get some big bargains. On the current roster, we have numerous examples of players who are leaving money on the table. Even guys who didn't pan out, like John Lynch, a former late career Steelers player (can't remember who it was), and Chad Ochocinco, all raved about the organization's overall excellence and their treatment of their players. We forget that some teams cheap out on everything, from food to hotels, and they are marred by incompetence...some of them have very negative fan bases. I do think that players care about that stuff. I haven't even gotten into the "winning" angle much here either.

I think a lot of these NFL players know each other, and maybe it is isn't such a secret about the work atmosphere in these cities. Players obviously don't enjoy their lifestyle and "celebrity status" when they are going 3-13 and turning over their roster every year, with a new GM coming in and cleaning house, which may very well be you. No doubt New England offers a lot of career stability, probably moreso than any other team. And finally, these guys are competitive and most of them want to be remembered...there is no team in the NFL like New England that offers that opportunity every year.

I'm certain Revis would have chosen the Patriots had the guaranteed money been in the same stratosphere. The fact that the Jets KNOW they need to far outbid the Patriots for the same player, just goes to show that most players would prefer New England. The question is only how much of a financial increase is necessary to take a role for a bottom feeding franchise instead of the best one. We will find out soon.

Not that your post isn't true as well...just a counter point.

 

[GodBrady]

Also, someone yesterday used the word "sanctimonious" to describe Hightower and how long it's taking for him to make a decision. So let me get this straight: it's "sanctimonious" for Hightower to weigh different offers and visit other teams...

...speaking of "high and mighty", how about the fans that are attacking Hightower's drive/character for considering signing with another team for more money? That sounds suspiciously sanctimonious of those fans.

 

[Ivan]

And that's why they are the jets, trying to screw with the Patriots matters more than trying to build your team the right way. Absolutely pathetic.

 

[crownontherocks]

He's choosing the Jets. Question becomes what we do about the D. Losing DH and Butler is a killer.

Better hurry zack brown visting raiders

 

[Joey007]

I have to think that we're offering at least 10.5 million, maybe even 11 mill.

So the question becomes- will HT really leave New England for a weak team like the Jets for that difference?